Giant investment bank Goldman Sachs & Company has announced that stock worth a half billion dollars could be given to charity, the Associated Press reports.

The plan dates back to Goldman Sachs' initial public offering (IPO) last May. The 350 current and retired partners of the bank now own 265 million shares of Goldman stock, worth almost $19 billion, AP reports. Under the original conditions of the IPO, they are not allowed to sell or transfer stock for three years.

Under the new plan, the partners could donate stock worth up to 30 percent of their gross income for the year to charity. If all partners gave 30 percent, the total donations could range up to $500 million under current prices.

Each executive will select where their donations, if any, will go. The company will publish a list of the selected charities next month, and all donations will be completed before the end of the year, AP reports.

In other news, a foundation set up by Goldman Sachs with $200 million in stock will announce its mission in the next two weeks, AP reports.

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